SkySafari normally updates its database of asteroid, comet, and satellite orbits once per week. In SkySafari Plus and Pro, you can tap this button to download new asteroid, comet, and satellite orbit data any time your iOS or Android device is connected to the internet. SkySafari will download the following files:

Bright Asteroids - from the Minor Planet Center

Observable Comets - from the Minor Planet Center

Visual Satellites - from Celestrak.com

These downloads should take 10 - 30 seconds if you are connected to the internet by Wi-Fi, and a 1 - 3 minutes if you are connected by a cellular data network. If successful, SkySafari will report the number of asteroid, comet, and satellite orbits that it has updated. If that number is zero, it probably means SkySafari can't connect to the on-line data sources for this information (because the server is down, or because you are not connected to the internet, etc).

Updating your orbit data every month or so is a good idea. It will ensure that SkySafari's position predictions are accurate. This is especially true for satellites, whose orbits change rapidly due to atmospheric drag, and due to perturbations from the Earth's non-spherical gravity field.

Updating also ensures that as new objects are launched - or discovered! - SkySafari will be able to show them to you.

Please Note: this feature is only available in SkySafari Plus and Pro.

Please let me know if this helps.

Keiron Smith Starry Night & Sky Safari Software Support Team

Ticket update:

The nasa satellite DSCOVR that i am interested in does not show up on the list at the site that you pull the data from. I also bought the apps (Mac and iOS versions through the Apple Store so the apps wont start and it does not work if i try to manually add satellite data, i can only push the in app button to update the current positions of the provided satellites.

Is there a way for your company to expand the list beyond 1736 satellites to include more deep space sun and planet orbiting satellites that may not be observable from a telescope?

Thank you, Hunter

Keiron Smith replies:

Sorry, no. SkySafari only supports satellites orbiting the Earth and only those we pull from CelesTrak.com